Study of a Mirror is the disconcerting yet inspiring reflection on the consumption of one’s own image. Where we become Dorian Gray, yearning that it will be the image that grows old and not us. The subject does not age but vanishes within seconds. It leaves us desiring just one more glance, one more glimpse of something that we inherently recognise. It is the acknowledgement that we are as temporal as the image.

The work encapsulates Robert Ryman’s minimalist ethos of his monochromatic works and recalls Francis Bacon’s studies for portraits. Thus spanning vastly different aesthetic attitudes. This ‘painting’ details the true likeness of the inner circus of dreams and torments that we are all made up of. A static moment is captured then slowly fades to back to nothingness.

Study for a Mirror has been aquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum for their permanent collection.